


….And Endings?

by MsGordo_Writings



Series: First Meetings [3]
Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:48:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22517266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsGordo_Writings/pseuds/MsGordo_Writings
Summary: answer to a challenge to describe Dawn and Connor’s first meeting and sequel to ‘Middles’.
Series: First Meetings [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1620130
Kudos: 2





	….And Endings?

**Author's Note:**

> These are the writings of [ MsGordo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kipplemine/profile), posted here with the author's express permission in order to preserve them from Yahoo Groups. If I have missed any tags or warnings, please feel free to let me know.

Title:  **….And Endings?**

Author **: Karen**

Synopsis: answer to a challenge to describe Dawn and Connor’s first meeting and sequel to ‘Middles’.

Disclaimer: Someday they’ll all be mine, mwahaha…….but not today

Rating: PG

Dedications: To all the ‘Brats and my own little Troika: Mel, Ina and Jen.

Author’s note: Despite emphatic words and gestures on my part this little series has proved popular and apparently is going to continue:: eyes Mel piercingly:: but will still continue to be FICLETS ::yells at top of voice in the hope the muses and everyone else will listen:: and therefore short and sweet and posted intermittently. Thank you for your attention.

  
  


**…….And Endings?**

  
  


Connor eyed the mound of shiny bags heaped around his feet and then looked up and met Dawn’s eyes over the Big Gulp they were sharing in the mall’s Food Hall, “And you’re absolutely sure I need all this stuff?”

Dawn nodded and beamed lovingly down at the results of Angel’s five hundred dollars shopping money, “Oh yeah, you totally need this.” She reached across the table and smoothed down the lapel of the brand new black leather jacket he wore, “You look great and no longer resemble a big spaz. What’s not to love?”

Connor cleared his throat and adjusted the sleeves experimentally, “It’s all stiff.”

“Well, duh! Stonkin’ new leather, of course it’s stiff.”

Dawn grinned as Connor flexed his shoulders and scowled. “Chill out, a couple of nights swingin’ your big axe and it’ll be as bendy as Xander assures me Cordelia used to be.”

Connor opened his mouth and then shut it, not entirely sure if his de facto mother had just been insulted or not. Bendy was always good, right?

Dawn sucked on the straw again and allowed her eyes to drift around the packed mall. Almost against her will she had found herself enjoying Connor’s company that afternoon and was now feeling just the tiniest bit guilty about her earlier behaviour. She sighed and made up her mind, “Look, about earlier, I was kinda a big brat and I want to say I’m sorry.”

Connor looked up from studying his new watch, which apparently kept working under water and was unsmashable.

_ Wonder if it can hold up to demon blood and vampire attacks? _

“Pardon?”

The teenaged girl narrowed her eyes and said through gritted teeth, “ _ I said _ , I’m sorry about earlier.”

Connor blinked and looked confused and then flushed the most delightful rose pink, “Oh. Thank you. And I’m sorry too. About calling you a girl and stuff, I mean.” He frowned and ran the last sentence back in his mind, “Well, not about calling you a girl, ‘cos you know, you are…”

Dawn choked on her mouthful of coke and spluttered, “It’s ok, I know what you meant.” She wiped some errant liquid off her chin and gave him a wide smile, “It’s just I’ve been wanting to go with Buffy and Spike and do some real slayage for SO long and then when they dragged me up here to help Angel I thought, y’know, this was  _ it _ and then I get saddled with you and shopping for god’s sake.” She placed her chin onto her cupped hand and blew her new bangs out of her eyes, “No offence but you were sorta a disappointment.”

Connor grinned at her wistful tone, “None taken. Believe me, this was the last thing I wanted to do this weekend.” He copied her gesture and leaned onto his own cupped hand and said mournfully, “School’s bad enough but shopping too? Ugh.”

Dawn smiled, “Not looking forward to the whole learning experience then?”

Connor frowned into the distance and said thoughtfully, “Well, it’s not the learning I have a problem with. I mean, back home, my father taught me my letters and numbers and how to hunt and plan attacks and stuff and it was ok. Not fun exactly, but ok, and now I live here with my dad and I have to go out everyday and be with children who would probably expire on the spot if they ever saw a demon and I don’t think it’s even going to be kind of ok.”

Dawn stared at him for a moment and then said sympathetically, “Scared, huh?”

Connor sat bolt upright in his chair and looked horrified, “NO! I don’t get scared.”

Dawn rolled her eyes, “Oh I forgot, you’re all big with the macho and bruteyness. Any idiot can see you’re scared of meeting new people. Stop being such a twit.”

“A  _ what _ ?” 

Dawn leaned back in her chair and grinned at Connor infuriatingly, “A twit, it’s something Giles always says when Xander says something stupid. Look, everyone gets shy once in a while, you just have to put a big smile on your face and grit your teeth and work through it.”

“I am NOT shy.”

She cocked her head to the side, “Sure you are.” Dawn rolled her eyes and continued airily, “And I totally get it. I’m you, ok? I’ve lived in a hell dimension all my life with only a big whacko and some demons for company….”

“Hey!”

Dawn snorted and waved her hand to silence him, “He was SO a whacko. Anyway, all of a sudden I find myself in one of the hippest cities on earth and living with my dad, who’s a big uber-broody vampire, and a bunch of demon hunters who think the words ‘kick back and relax’ were invented to describe a night of full on slayage” She flicked back her hair and said triumphantly, “Of course you’re scared. Not exactly Joe Normal are ya?”

Connor looked like he wanted to protest and then sagged muttering, “What would you know? You fit in this world.”

Dawn giggled and looked him square in the eye as he scowled at her, “Oh yeah, that’s me, Everyday Barbie. Listen up, my sister’s the chosen one in love with a vampire who just recently got a soul. Neither of them want to fess up yet so I’m living in a house filled with much creeping around and denial as they bang each other senseless every night. Her best friend is a recovering magic addict,  _ her  _ best friend is trying to get back together with his 1,000 yr old vengeance demon girlfriend after dumping her at the altar and  _ I’m _ a three thousand year old ball of energy that got shaped into a human to prevent a crazed hell-god breaking down the walls between dimensions and ending the world.”

Dawn took a deep breath as her face turned purple through lack of oxygen and continued, “On top of all this my fake Dad is off banging his secretary in Europe somewhere and probably couldn’t pick me out of a line-up with the aid of a big flashy sign and a pointy stick and my fake Mom died two years ago and left me to be raised by the above mentioned freaks and geeks.” She took another swig of her cola and swallowed saying coolly, “So don’t tell me I don’t know what it’s like not to fit in.”

Connor realised his mouth was hanging open and closed it with a snap. Dawn watched him try and assimilate the new information and grinned smugly, “I believe I win the ‘I’m-a-big-freak-award’ this time.”

Connor shook his head, “How can you be so proud of that?”

“I’m not proud of it but I’m not ashamed or worried by it either. It’s who I am.” Dawn’s chin came up and she said more heatedly, “And it’s who you are. So you’re different, big whoop. Everybody’s different. We just happen to be lucky enough to be  _ interesting  _ different.” She gestured at the people milling around them and leaned in to say in a low serious voice, “They have no idea how the world really works, no idea of how often their lives can be turned inside out without us there to stop it. We’re the lucky ones,  _ we know _ .”

Connor followed her gaze and stared around him. So many lives and not one of them knew what he knew and saw what he saw. For the first time since he had seen his real Dad he felt the churning in his stomach ease a little and his heart felt some kind of peace. He looked back into Dawn’s eyes, “I never thought of it like that.”

The girl shrugged and bent to collect the shopping bags from the floor and rose to leave, “No one we know ever does.” She watched as he grabbed the rest and then stood to follow her, “Look, I’m not saying I don’t have my own life, but when you start school and if you need someone to talk to that isn’t all about whatever demon has a bug up it’s scabby butt this week you can call me.”

Connor gave her a wide smile, “Really?”

Dawn nodded and led the way to the exit, “Absolutely, but don’t make a habit of it. I have my own unnatural existence to worry about as well you know.”

Connor laughed and said mischievously, “How are you on football?”

Dawn grinned, “Don’t push it.”

  
  
  


End.


End file.
